ALBANY -- New York state health officials have yanked a set of proposed guidelines for what were initially deemed risky day camp games like Red Rover and kickball.
Health department spokeswoman Claudia Hutton says the rules and lists of games and activities were sent out to municipalities and other camp operators under the previous administration.
She says that after a review spurred by a lawmaker's questions Friday and subsequent news reports, they've been judged too detailed and amount to micromanagement.
Hutton said Tuesday that the department will continue gathering information during a comment period that ends May 16 and will formulate new safety regulations that are broader.
The regulations are required under a 2009 rule meant to close a loophole in the law that allowed indoor day camps to operate without the same state oversight applied to outdoor day camps.
Original Story:
A New York lawmaker has asked state health officials to postpone regulations under a new law that says day campers face a "significant risk of injury" from traditional summer games including capture the flag, kickball and tag.
State Sen. Patricia Ritchie of Watertown wants the health commissioner to hold off on the expanded guidelines because she believes they'll put a staffing and fiscal burden on local recreation programs trying to comply with the law that took effect April 1.
The amendment revises the definition of a summer children's day camp to include organized indoor group activities involving "nonpassive recreational activities with significant risk of injury." Under the agency's guidelines, they include such activities as archery and rock climbing, but also the games Red Rover and Wiffle Ball.
We want to know your opinion on this story. Is this new law a good way to protect children? Or is it a case of the government overstepping its bounds? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think!
